


From Student To Master

by AngelWithAStory



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Coming of Age, Escape, Fights, In The 70 Year Gap, Leaving Home, New Life Prospects, Post Series, slight romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-22 04:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toph's 18th Birthday is finally here. Now her parents have to accept she's an Earthbending master and now's her chance to do what she's been doing since she was 9: escape. For good. And the news of Republic City being built is the perfect disguise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Student To Master

**Author's Note:**

> One-shot of Toph Bei Fong's home life and her 18th birthday. I admit, at some points in this, I maybe forget Toph's blind but that can't be helped since it's told through her point of view (well, it can, I'm just lazy and forgetful). I haven;t read the 'Promise' comics which explain some of what happens straight after the finale of Season 3 (THE FEELS!!!) so I apologize if there are any gaps in the canon around that time. 
> 
> Anyhow, Please enjoy this glimpse into my free time.

A knock at the door roused the sleeping occupant of the room. A middle-aged woman entered, carrying a tray of food.

“Happy birthday, darling.” She said, striding over to the bed where a sleeping Toph lay. Toph sat up and listened as her mother sat down on her bed and laid the tray across her lap. She said nothing, but started eating the food in front of her. Ignoring her daughter’s silence, the woman continued speaking.

 “Your friends are coming around 5 for your birthday dinner. Won’t it be good to see them again?” She said absent-mindedly. Realising her mistake, the mother tried to backpedal but Toph cut her off with laughter.

 “I _saw_ them last week.” Toph replied, forgiving her mother for her slip of the tongue.

 “Still, it will be nice to have them here on your special day.” Her mother said, choosing her words carefully. “I’ll leave you to eat in peace.” She said, swiftly leaving the room. When the door closed, Toph smiled to herself.

 

Twenty minutes later, Toph carefully put the tray down and threw back the covers. She stepped over to the wardrobe. Inside was a special outfit for today. It was a long gown like she used to wear when she was 12 and first met the gang. Smiling again, she quickly slipped it on and walked to the bathroom. There she tided her hair as best she could, which had become matted in the night, and slipped on her ‘space-earth’ arm bracelet that she’d had for six years. Usually, Toph didn’t care for her looks, but today _was_ a special day. (Even when Toph was twelve, she never cared much for how she looked, mainly because she was blind and couldn’t even see herself.) Not only was it her eighteenth birthday, but today was also the day when she would be become an Earth bending master. Toph was a fully fledged adult, and her parents finally accepted that. As the creator of metal-bending, you’d think Toph would’ve been a master by now, but her parents were far too over protective and refused for it to happen until she was an adult.

“Happy birthday Toph!” her father called out as she entered the main room.

“Morning.” She replied, unenthusiastically.

 

After a day of opening presents (which were mainly associated with Earthbending) and lounging around, Toph decided to get dressed up for her birthday dinner. At 5 o’clock exactly, a knock at the door sounded. The whole gang was there, waiting at the door. Toph’s dad opened the door and greeted them all in turn. They all trooped into the dining hall where they took a seat. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Zuko all looked pretty much the same as when they first met, except older. Toph and Aang were the youngest of the group, since they were both biologically eighteen. (If you want to get technical, Aang is really 118 since he was frozen in an iceberg for 100 years, but that’s another story)

“Happy eighteenth birthday, Toph.” Katara said, laying a parcel down on the table.

“Thanks Katara.” Toph replied, biting back a sarcastic comment.

“Happy birthday.” Sokka said, patting her on the back.

“Thanks how are you two?” she asked, meaning Sokka and Suki.

“Well,” Sokka began, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to find the right words.

“Just tell them.” Suki prompted.

“We’re going to live together.” Sokka spat out, reaching out for Suki’s hand and squeezing it. Gasps and words of congratulations filled the air.

“Congratulations, you two.” Zuko said kindly. He wasn’t dressed in his usual Fire Lord robes, but he still had the flame hair accessory on.

“Yeah. That’s great news!” Toph responded, punching Sokka in the arm. It was her way of showing affection. The arm bracelet slipped down slightly, and Toph didn’t hesitate to hide it from sight. Her parents didn’t know about it, and it was her reminder of why she was going to leave that night.

“Dinner’s ready.” Toph’s dad called out above the noise. They all fell quiet as the food was brought out. Slowly, the noise level rose again as everyone shared the most recent news they had to offer.

“So, Fire Lord Zuko,” Toph’s mother began. “How is everything in the Fire Kingdom?”

“Balance is being kept quite well. We did have a spot of trouble with a group of water benders a while ago but it was nothing serious.” Zuko replied, tucking in to the marvellous meal.

“Avatar Aang; how is everything?” Toph’s dad asked. Even after years of Toph being a close friend of his, he could still not get over being in _the Avatar’s_ company.

“We’re all working hard to maintain balance within the four nations. We found another Sky Bison the other day. She and Appa really hit it off.” Aang explained happily. Meanwhile, Katara, Toph and Suki were having a private conversation about Toph’s new title.

“‘Earth bending Master’. It’s such a regal title.” Suki said in awe.

“I know. They came round earlier and officially made me a master.” Toph boasted.

“It’s about time.” Katara put in, a smile on her face. “You _created_ metalbending and they wait until your eighteen to make you a master.”

“It was my parents; they refused to let the sieges give me the title until I was an adult. There’s nothing to stop me now.” Toph said with a note of vanity in her voice. Suki and Katara laughed at Toph’s confidence. A smartly dressed man appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat loudly.

“Avatar Aang, Miss Katara, your Sky Bison is acting a bit unsettled.” He announced.

“I’ll go see how he is.” Katara said, getting up out of her seat. Aang got up as well and followed her. For a brief moment, just before they left, you could see them holding hands.

“They don’t go anywhere by themselves these days.” Sokka explained apologetically. “I think something’s happened which they haven’t told me.” Suddenly the mood changed.

“So, Suki. How are the Kyoshi Warriors doing?” Toph asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Luckily, Suki took the hint.

“Great. I haven’t seen them much but they sent me letters often. That Ty Lee girl, you remember her, don’t you?”

“How could I forget her?” Toph replied, truthfully. Ty Lee was a girl that could use a technique known as ‘chi-blocking’ to temporarily take away someone’s bending.

“Well, apparently the girls have taken a real shine to her. She’s really proven her worth.” Suki said, eating another mouthful of food.

“Oh, all the good memories just came flooding back to me.” Sokka said sarcastically, earning a round of laughter from everyone except Toph’s parents, who had no idea who Ty Lee was.  Normal conversation picked up after that and pretty soon, Katara and Aang returned to their seats.

“What’s wrong with Appa?” Zuko asked, looking up from his meal.

“I think he’s just missing his companion.” Aang said, sitting down. “They’ve gotten so close recently, it’s cute.” He smiled sheepishly. Toph smiled at the thought of Appa and the other Sky Bison.

 

When the last plate had been taken away, everyone moved into the living room for dessert. Zuko hung back.

“Can I talk to you?” He hissed as Aang walked past him. Katara looked at the both of them for a second but Aang nodded and she continued walking.

“What’s up?” Aang asked quietly.

“Should we ask her?” Zuko hissed, glancing at Toph as she disappeared into the other room. Aang looked where Toph stood and nodded silently. They both trooped into the room and Zuko raised his hand to tap Toph on the shoulder.

“Oh hey, Zuko.” She said brightly, just before he reached her.

“How does she do that?” Sokka asked, over dramatically.

“Can we have a word, in private?” Zuko inquired.

“Sure.” Toph got up and followed them out of the room into the hallway. “What?”

“Well, you know how we’ve turned the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom into a new city, where people from every nation can live together; Bender or non-bender?” Zuko started. It was obvious that he’d rehearsed this.

“Yeah. What about it?” Toph asked.

“Well, the city will need a police force, and more importantly, a chief of police.” Zuko continued, struggling to find the right way to phrase it.

“Will you be the head of the police force when Republic City is built?” Aang asked, cutting across Zuko.

“Of course I will.” Toph answered happily, but tried to cover it up.

“That’s great!” Aang exclaimed excitedly. He quickly recovered his demeanour and bowed respectfully.

“Of course, my metal bending academy will come first. But I’d be more than happy to help out.” Toph said, dropping her voice slightly.

“We’ve thought of that. You could teach metal bending to some of the police officers and form, what we’d like to call, ‘The Metal Bending Police Force’.” Zuko chipped in.

“Didn’t have to reach far for that title did you?” the words came out of Toph’s mouth before she could stop them. Zuko looked a bit downcast, but Aang erupted into fits of laughter.

“Anyway,” Zuko started, trying to cover up his slight humiliation. “Will that arrangement work for you?”

“What about my students?” Toph asked, thinking of the three she’d already picked out, who were well on their way to mastery in the art. “I can’t leave them.”

“You will be able to continue teaching them, just others as well.” Zuko continued, obviously trying to win Toph over.

“Okay. When do you want me to go to ‘republic city’, was it?” Toph said, masking her glee.

“As soon as possible.” Aang said, bowing respectfully.

“How does tonight sound?” Toph asked.

“You want to leave with us?” Zuko was stunned at her eagerness to leave.

“I’m an adult now. I can fend for myself. The sooner I’m out of her, the easier it’ll be.” Toph admitted, feeling a minute twinge of guilt but shaking it off.

“Shouldn’t you talk it over with your parents? The last time you left with us, they thought I kidnapped you.” Aang protested.

“Fine. MUM, DAD can I talk to you?” Toph shouted into the next room and her parents came running out.

“What’s wrong darling?” her mum asked fearfully.

“I’m going to Republic City with the gang tonight to help with the Police force.” she said simply.  It took a minute for her words to sink in. Suddenly, her mum burst into tears and her dad grew red in the face. He turned on Aang and Zuko.

“This is your doing! Kindly get out of my house.” He said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

“You’re really going?” Toph’s mum asked, not bothering to wipe the tears away that were streaming down her face. Neither of her parents reactions had any effect on Toph.

“Yes, I’m going and I’m going to teach people how to metalbend. There’s nothing you can do that will stop me.” Toph turned to her parents and spoke defiantly. She then turned down the corridor and disappeared into her room. Toph emerged a moment later, dressed in her battle uniform (the green outfit with a beige apron, no shoes and the hair band that she wore proudly). In her hand, she held a small bag which was filled with another outfit and everything she would need to teach. Katara, Sokka and Suki must have heard the commotion, because they came out of the front room and stood in the hall looking fearful.

“What’s going on?” Katara asked as Toph walked up to them.

“I’m leaving with you to run the police academy in Republic City.” Toph said, standing beside her. “goodbye mum and dad.” She said genuinely.

“I think we should leave.” Sokka whispered loudly in the silence that followed Toph’s words.

“That would be best.” Suki agreed, turning to leave. Everyone followed, including Toph. They all trooped out to where Appa was waiting for them.

“Yip yip.” Aang said quietly, taking his seat when everyone else was settled into the saddle. Katara sat beside Toph.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Toph said defensively. “I was going to leave anyway, I’m just glad you asked me to come.”

“Why were you going to leave?” Katara inquired.

“You’ve met my parents. Even now when I’m a master Earthbender, they still see me as the poor defenceless kid I was when I was eight. If I stayed, they wouldn’t let me ever be myself, regardless of my age.” Toph admitted, sinking her head into her knees.

“Well, we’re all back together now. It was weird not having you around.” Katara said, choosing to put the evening behind them.

“Yeah, it didn’t feel right not having someone make fun of us all every five minutes.” Sokka chimed in.

“Or, patronising us twice a day.” Aang agreed, looking over his shoulder. All their kind words made Toph laugh.

“Yeah, where would you be without me?” Toph asked jokily.

“Hunted down by Azula probably.” Sokka said, and this time everyone laughed.


End file.
